Nolo's Essential Guide to Divorce

November 15, 2006
Nolo's successful formula for creating law books for lay audiences combines user-friendly formatting and attorney authors with intuitive organizational schemes. Nolo books include information on variances in the laws from state to state, and readers can go to the publisher's web site to learn about changes in the law. Typically, there are abundant lists of additional resources and appendixes or accompanying CD-ROMs with self-help forms or checklists. These three new titles exemplify these traits.

With "Divorce", attorney and mediator Doskow covers the before, during, and after of divorce, counseling readers on the types of divorces, how to make decisions about living arrangements and the division of property, and how custody decisions are made. She advocates minimizing conflict but includes sections on domestic violence and kidnapping if the worst happens. Appendixes contain state-to-state grounds for divorce and financial inventory forms.

"Federal Employment Laws", published in cooperation with the Society for Human Resource Management, is designed as a tool for human resources officers. Organized in chapters by the 20 most important federal employment laws, it covers such issues as discrimination, disabilities, workplace safety, and equal pay. Employment law specialists Guerin and DelPo provide an overview of the intent and application of each statute and explain how it is enforced. Compliance sections in each chapter help employers understand what they must report, the records they must keep, and what penalties might befall them if they fail to comply. There are extensive lists of contacts for applicable government agencies.

In "Finding Great Tenants", landlord/tenant lawyer Portman pairs business and legal advice for those who own or manage rental property. She helps readers with everything from conducting an open house to screening tenants without engaging in discrimination. Portman covers the legalities involved in obtaining credit, criminal background, and Megan's Law reports. Her advice on negotiating with tenants and evaluating applications and credit reports will be particularly useful to new landlords. An accompanying CD-ROM includes 40 common forms of agreement or correspondence. All three titles are available as e-books and are recommended for public libraries.Joan Pedzich, Harris Beach, PLLC, Rochester, NY

Copyright 2006 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.